Universities Taking Up Graphic Novels
A couple of stories came out today in university newspapers revealing the continued growth of interest in comic books and graphic novels is beginning to manifest on campuses.
At Louisiana State University, officials selected Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis as the summer reading book for incoming freshmen. The Daily Reveille covers the story:
"It’s a very different choice from what we’ve done in the past," said Sarah Liggett, English professor and Student Reading Program committee chairperson. "It’s a focus on the Middle East, which is certainly very much in the news today, and it’s the first summer reading selection to be created by a woman. You see not only what she felt in the words, but you see it in the pictures."
From the responses in the article, it sounds like the choice is going over much better than at Ithaca College, where the student paper’s editorial board berated the choice of Persepolis on grounds that it wasn’t intellectual.
In other news, Emerson College is considering adding a comics/graphic novel program, according to the student paper there. For now, the college has added some new comics-related courses, which aren’t for credit but instead offer certificates for those who pass the courses. Andy Fish is the instructor.
[Fish] is currently working on a DC comic project illustrating the graphic novel "BATMAN 1939" and his own comic "The Boy Who Wished He Could Fly."
"Who knows if walking among the student body, or hanging out in the Dunkin Donuts on the corner is the next Frank Miller or Will Eisner?," Fish said. "Graphic novels have been gaining respect among the squares, and I think it is great that Emerson is offering this program, and I’m delighted to be a part of it."
Thanks for the article. I applied to Ithaca College, but now I'm thinking I might not like it there. (Which is a shame since they hold the Rod Serling Confrences)
Well, before you blow the whole college off for that I'd say look into it a bit more. My guess is that the Ithaca student newspaper is just read by some people who don't have any comics familiarity and can't imagine that comics have intellectual value. The school's leaders (who probably will play a greater role in your education) seem to think Persepolis is A-OK.
I know. The college is otherwise pretty nice (the fact they chose Persepolis is pretty impressive), but I've had a feeling for a while that the Ithaca population is too normal for me to fit in. I think I'd be better off at a geeky college like Carnegie Mellon. (KGB FTW)That, and I want to work on my college's newspaper, and after reading through some of the editorials, I'm good.
Good luck, wherever you go. I was very involved with my college newspaper and had a great time at it, but it seems like it was very different from the Ithaca one.
I hope you learn in college that a newspaper editorial is just one writer's opinion, nothing to generalize about the paper, the community, etc. Hecks wrecks, I live in a town where two newspapers are owned by vulgar Australian Rupert Murdoch.
Which graphic novels are of literary merit and worthy of study at the college level? Alan Moore's "Watchmen" would make my list. "Maus," by Spiegelman. Scott McCloud's, "Understanding Comics." I guess "Understanding Comics" would be considered graphic non-fiction, but it's still noteworthy, literary and well worth reading.